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Missile Defense

Technology has always found its greatest consumer in a nation's war and defense efforts. Since the last attempts at a "Star Wars" defense system, has technology changed considerably enough to make the latest Missile Defense initiatives more successful? Can such an application of science be successful? Is a militarized space inevitable, necessary or impossible?

Read Debates, a new Web-only feature culled from Readers' Opinions, published every Thursday.

gisterme - 06:33pm Mar 15, 2003 EST (# 10007 of 10017)

rshow55 - 09:10pm Mar 14, 2003 EST (# 9965 of ...)

http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@28.v0LPasDF5Qs.2110239@40679d@.f28e622/11510

"...No reason at all to go to war if there is no Saddam..."

Robert, for a person who proclaims himself to be so smart, you surely don't seem to have any grasp whatsover about what the causes of a war with Iraq may be.

This war, if it happens, is not about Saddam personally. How can you say that and still claim to be intelligent? This war, if it happens, is about what the ruler of Iraq (whatever his name may be) is and has been doing that threatens the general well-being of his own people and the world.

You must know that, yet you still babble on as if the cause of all this is some vendetta against the person of Saddam. Thinking and saying that is worse than ridiculous...it's asinine.

If there is no Saddam, does Iraq still have WMD? Yes.

If there is no Saddam, is Iraq still training terroirsts? Yes.

If there is no Saddam, is Iraq still in material breach of 17 UN resolutions? Yes.

If there is no Saddam, does Iraq continue to thumb it's nose at the UN? Yes.

If there is no Saddam, could Iraq still provide WMD to terrorists? Yes.

If there is no Saddam, could Iraqi-WMD-armed terrorists still kill millions? Yes.

If there is no Saddam, why are Iraq's children starving and it's people still living in fear? It's because Saddam lives. Saddam had better be quickly about the business of turning over his WMD or he will be dead.

So you see, Robert, the person of Saddam is not in and of itself the evil thing. This war, if it happens has nothing to do with punishing Saddam. It will be about the way that the ruler of Iraq, by whatever name, is and has been misusing his power. Even if Saddam were dead and his seat of power had taken on the title of "Saddam" the effects of the dangerous misapplication of that power are still apparent.

The only way that Saddam being dead could prevent a war is that if whomever has replaced him would surrender and or verifiably account for the WMD Iraq has, and quit training, funding and othewise supporting terroirsts. The requirements for Iraq to come into compliance with UN resolutions and prevent a war are exactly the same, whether Saddam lives or not. Those UN resolutions exist to provide a legal remedy to a genuine worldwide threat from Iraq.

The reason that I'm sure that Saddam is still alive is that his government continues to thumb it's nose at the UN...and his supporters in the UN continue to grovel at his feet.

rshow55 - 07:26pm Mar 15, 2003 EST (# 10008 of 10017)
Can we do a better job of finding truth? YES. Click "rshow55" for some things Lchic and I have done and worked for on this thread.

If Bush doesn't have a better reason than that - he ought to be very careful.

And Blair ought to be very wary.

"Thumb its nose? "

"Grovel? "

Not everybody the US has to deal with would feel comfortable with those words. I don't.

almarst2003 - 08:18pm Mar 15, 2003 EST (# 10009 of 10017)

Tens of thousands of US anti-war protesters converged on the White House in Washington yesterday as campaigners around the globe staged scores of marches, rallies and peace vigils against an attack on Iraq. - http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=387598

Is it a Beginning of the End of Empire?

almarst2003 - 08:25pm Mar 15, 2003 EST (# 10010 of 10017)

Top US military planner fears a 'likely' repeat of Somalia bloodbath http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=387234

Well, the more coloreful the OIL will be.

almarst2003 - 08:28pm Mar 15, 2003 EST (# 10011 of 10017)

ISTANBUL — The US ambassador to Turkey hosted an elegant dinner party for Turkish lawmakers reluctant to approve US military cooperation in an Iraq war.

There was classical Turkish music and salmon, costly and difficult to obtain here. Also on the menu — some diplomatic fence-mending and words that Washington intends to reorganize the region and remain in Iraq for 20 to 25 years. http://www.malaysiakini.com/foreignnews/200303140111046662921.php

Or for as long as their's a value in Iraqi OIL?

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